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Is Donald Trump really preparing to recognize a Palestinian state? The news hit like a thunderbolt on Saturday, amid an avalanche of stories claiming that Trump is angry with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is changing course from his previous wholehearted support of Israel’s defense against Hamas and the other jihadist entities that are determined to destroy it. As is so often the case in such matters, however, there was decidedly less to the story than there initially appeared to be.
The Jerusalem Post picked up the story Saturday from the American news agency The Media Line. The distancing from the claim began in the headline: “Gulf diplomatic source claims Trump will announce US recognition of Palestinian state.” As the story unfolded, the claim became even more tenuous.
The assertion that Trump would recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming Gulf-US summit was attributed to “a Gulf diplomatic source, who declined to be named or disclose his position.” This anonymous individual claimed that “President Donald Trump will issue a declaration regarding the State of Palestine and American recognition of it, and that there will be the establishment of a Palestinian state without the presence of Hamas.”
Just three paragraphs later, however, The Media Line quoted a person who didn’t decline to be named, denying the whole thing: “Ahmed Al-Ibrahim, a former Gulf diplomat, told The Media Line, ‘I don’t expect it to be about Palestine. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan have not been invited. They are the two countries closest to Palestine, and it would be important for them to be present at any event like this.’”
So what we end up with is one anonymous source indulging in speculation about what Trump will do at the Gulf summit, and someone else denying that speculation. The pro-Israel activist known on X as Brian of London said of the story that it was “Completly [sic] irresponsible for @Jerusalem_Post to run it and especially with that headline. The internet will go crazy over this s**t quote to a 5th tier news wire which is even contradicted by a NAMED source a few paragraphs down.” And indeed, online Israel-haters immediately began celebrating.
That was just one of a flood of stories over the past week that claimed that there was a breach between Trump and Israel. A Hebrew-language report in Israel Hayom bore this headline: “Sources close to the president: ‘Trump is disappointed with Netanyahu and has decided to advance steps in the Middle East without him.’” The claim was attributed once again to people who declined to be named, and who were identified as “two senior sources close to the president.”
On Friday, Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, responded on X: “It’s reckless & irresponsible for press to allege that @POTUS and @IsraeliPM are not getting along. Bibi has spent more time with @realDonaldTrump than I have in past 3 months & I’m his ambassador! The relationship between US & Israel remains STRONG!”
These stories and similar ones have been circulating amid a highly volatile situation. The news went out worldwide that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had canceled his trip to Israel, which was trumpeted far and wide as further evidence of a US/Israel rift, but then it turned out that Trump had asked Hegseth to accompany him to the Gulf summit, and the trip to Israel will take place later. A Friday Washington Post story concluded with this: “Huckabee denied reports that Trump was backing away from Israel. ‘I think the answer to that is an emphatic no,’ he said.”
There seems, however, to be a concerted effort to create a rift even if there isn’t one. Or those who are responsible for these false reports may be engaging in Lyndon Johnson’s old tactic. During a rough campaign, Johnson is said to have told his aides to spread a false story about his opponent. When they told him that the story wasn’t true, he replied, “I know it isn’t. I just want to hear him deny it.”
This wouldn’t be even close to the first time that the leftist establishment media has ginned up a controversy where there wasn’t one. At this point, there is no reason to doubt Huckabee’s statement that the US/Israel alliance is as strong as ever. Whatever happens at the Gulf summit, it is almost certain to bring yet more confirmation of the fact that the establishment media cannot be trusted.
Hard to say what’s going on. For sure the left cannot be trusted in how they lie and manipulate public opinion. That said, there are things Trump and others in his adminstration have said and done that don’t exactly engender a feeling of confidence. Witkoff is a disaster. Naive, at best. Trump’s accepting a luxury plane from Qatar to use as a new Air Force on is being pathetic. It also seems he’s negotiated w/Hamas independent from Israel, which is his right w/respect to the last remaining American hostage, but it seems Netanyahu may be frustrated that Trump is making a deal that only releases one hostage. Etc. I suppose time will tell. I hope things will remain steady because Trump has been the most pro-Israel president we have ever had.
And as an aside: G-d bless Robert Spencer, a tireless voice sounding the alarm of the grave threats before us if only the American public and those in leadership positions would listen.
I would be interested to hear Mr. Spencer’s response to the list of problematic issues related to the topic of this article, that’s published in a piece called “Honey, he’s had enough of you” at Times of Israel. It’s a list of facts, not spin, and they are on their face, disturbing.
Yes, Trump is breaking with Israel; that’s obvious. Jews hate been defeated by a coalition of the Muslim Brotherhood and Scottish Rite/Joseph Campbell types in the UK. The fall of Israel is just a matter of time.
Jordan IS a Palestinian state but they refuse to entertain the gazan savages.
Yes, it’s obviously Minitrue Media bullshit.
Hopefully, yes. We don’t need to be dragged into wars by BiBI or anyone else. Trump is angry the way BiBI went behind his back with plans to engage Iran.
I’m not for losing American lives and treasure for other countries wars. Done. The government of Israel has treated the Palestinians like the Jews were treated in the Holocaust.
Go after Hamas? Yes. But bombing areas where women and children are? Absolutely not. I know many on here are racist and blindly support Israel. Not all Palestinians are bad people and not all Israelis are good.
Time to let Israel fight their own wars and cut off our endless money supply to many of these countries
Israel fights his own wars you moron Jew hater.
“The government of Israel has treated the Palestinians like the Jews were treated in the Holocaust?”
Where are the ovens?
Maybe attacking Israel on October 7th wasn’t such a great idea after all. The very Muslims that were celebrating that attack had much in common with the Muslims around the world celebrating 9-11. President Bush saying it was a “peaceful religion” was the height of political correctness.
So we’re speculating because the actions are not matching the words.
Two suggestions to unify actions with words:
1) It’d be significant if the word ‘ceasefire’ would be replaced by ‘unconditional surrender’ and be exclusively applied to and required of all the Hamas ‘people’ and their fellow Gaza ‘people’ who are their supportive, proud parents, spouses, women proud to conceive a baby for jihad, grandparents, siblings, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, teachers, colleagues, neighbors and co-‘civilian’ captors of hostages who imprison the kidnapped in their ‘homes’, which camouflage tunnel entrances and are weapon storehouses.
The only side that must cease its fire in this war against Israel is GazaHamas. Hamas is the life of Gaza. Hamas is organic and intrinsic to all of Gaza. It is Gaza’s DNA. The only statements that refute this fact are lies. Demand total, unconditional surrender of HamasGaza. That will clarify the situation; and will bring about, speedily, a truly definitive end of the war; and it is the only way to end killing and dying. This requires a total shift in attitude towards Israel and her enemies. After 10/7, the war waged against Israel can never again end in a ‘ceasefire’.
2) Accompanying that shift in attitude is the acceptance of the fact that Hamas and Gaza are one and the same. Don’t separate Hamas from Gaza. Hamas is Gaza. Gaza is Hamas. Stop making the false distinction. Don’t feed the terror death cult of martyrdom. Supposedly half of Gazans are choosing life and want to leave Gaza. For the others, even though they rather die, those Gazans must be removed from their present location because they want to kill the Jews. They say it. They do it. What gives them the right to get away with that?! Leave the Jewish people and Israel alone. History and the Torah establish the land and people of Israel. Accept that reality and get over this noxious resentment, toxic jealousy or whatever excuse a warped hateful mind makes up. Stop forcing absurd concessions on Israel. Save the lives of terror supporting Gazans by transporting them to the other 50+ Muslim countries in the world, even if they don’t want their lives saved.
And do it now. It won’t take long.
This is the reason I stopped tuning into the local news, legacy media and so-called cable news main sleaze media – as well as newspapers – I parse the news online to get closer to the fact.
President Trump is not changing his ally to Israel